


prud'ika

by Darth Occlus (NotSummer)



Series: deliverance [9]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Confessions, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fade to Black, Feelings, Fluff, Nicknames, lots of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 02:15:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15233148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NotSummer/pseuds/Darth%20Occlus
Summary: Miyala's not a fan of vulnerability, but somehow Jesse always finds the cracks in her walls, even unintentionally.





	prud'ika

Jesse distractedly ran his fingers down Miyala’s lekku as she used his stomach as a pillow while she flicked through information feeds and reports on her datapad. In the back of his mind, he was aware the gentle touches were lulling her to sleep, but Jesse was more focused on the datapad he was holding.

He mumbled pronunciations and words under his breath, reading the mando’a out loud as he tried to teach himself the language. Koyi had been sending him bits and pieces every few days, and Jesse was doing his damndest to learn. She’d promised him a spot in Baat’aran, and he was going to earn it.

His mouth twitched as he stumbled on one word though, and he tapped Miyala’s lekku, getting her attention. Her cybernetic hand clinked against her datapad as she kept reading, and Jesse tapped her lekku again, calling her name.

She looked up at him, scrunching her nose slightly as she let her datapad drop onto her growing stomach. She raised a brow at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain.

He almost felt silly now that he had her attention, but he asked, “How do you feel about nicknames?”

She blinked, looking thoughtful. “What, like cute names you’d use for me? I don’t mind the idea. What are you thinking?” She pushed herself onto her side, and Jesse winced slightly as her earcone dug into his stomach. She hastily readjusted herself, putting her arm under her head, and he let out a breath of relief.

“I was reading through the stuff Koyi gave me, and, uh, how do you feel about Prud’ika?” The feeling that he was being foolish increased as he spoke. Jesse fumbled over his words, his eyes moving down and then back up to meet her steady gaze. 

He caught her startled look, though. Before he could ask, she responded, “Prud’ika… little shadow.”

Jesse frowned. “I thought you said you didn’t know Mando’a?” She’d mentioned she had no knowledge of the language before, and besides occasionally practicing with him, she hadn’t shown interest in learning.

“I don’t,” she replied, sitting up. She put her head on her knee, watching him, even though her eyes were far away. She shivered, as if chilled, and then added, “I heard it, a long time ago. In a vision.”

Her expression turned amused, and adoring in equal measure, and she focused back on him. “The vision… when I spoke to her, she told me my heart would call me that.”

Jesse squirmed slightly, but the sentiment warmed him, and he reached out, running his hand down her lekku in an affectionate gesture. “Your heart, huh? The vision tell you anything else?”

Her gaze went dark and afraid, and he regretted his question. Finally, she said, “It wasn’t a happy vision. I’ll find the transcript. I wrote down everything I remembered. But not now.” She shook off her mood, and refocused on him. 

Her hand moved, settling on his chest, where his heart lie under his shirt, and she said quietly, “I’ve never belonged. I’ve always been… someone else. Because that’s that the Jedi asked of me, so I took names that weren’t my own, and I faked personalities and wants and who I was. For years.”

She looked away from him, and then said, her voice getting hoarse, “With you, I’m me. I don’t have to fight to remember who I am. And with you… I belong. I don’t have to worry about 15 karking identities. I’m just Miyala. Your Miyala. Your little shadow. Gar prud’ika.” She dropped her hand from her chest, wrapping it around her legs as she curled up, staring away from him, fighting for every bit of vulnerability she could show him.

Her eyes closed, and she repeated, “Yours.”

Jess shoved himself up, pulling her into his arms, and she mumbled out, “I’m yours as long as you want me. I’d be fine on my own, but-.” Her voice cracked and she faltered before adding, “I don’t want to be on my own.”

“Hey, hey, I’m not going anywhere,” he soothed her, rubbing circles on her back. He could admit her sudden breakdown was a much larger reaction than he’d expected, but she struggled to be vulnerable and open, and she struggled with her emotions. Apparently he’d hit a trigger for her. He continued murmuring sweet nothings and reassurances for her, and she settled.

“Sorry,” she said, “I‘m sorry.” She sniffled again, and then said, “I like the name. I just. Don’t like thinking about the vision. The dragon was part of the vision. And I got freaked out.”

Jesse nodded, still running his hands up and down her spine. “You’re fine, Ala.” He knew she had nightmares about a dragon, but she’d never elaborated. That silence made more sense now. “You’re fine.”

He was silent for a moment, and then he said, “You know, you do the same for me. I’ve never had to… work to be myself around you. You just accepted me as a person and an equal from the day we met.”

“Oh,” she said softly. She moved so she could kiss his cheek, and he twisted so he could kiss her on the lips instead. He held her tight because no, he didn’t think she realized how much she meant to him, because she didn’t think about it. And he loved her little gestures, and her thoughtless acts of kindness, things she did because it was part of her. Her loved her for all her unconscious acts of love, the ones she considered so normal and mundane and he considered precious moments.

And so Jesse held her tight, hoping the clumsy gesture would express the feelings he didn’t quite know how to put in words, kissing her deeply, pulling back only to whisper, “Ner prud’ika.”

She shivered under his hands, and he repeated the name, whispering it against her cheek. She shuddered again, her back arching, and he leaned back in time to see her eyes flutter closed as a content smile spread over her face.

She opened her eyes, and they held each other's gaze for a moment before she moved his hand to her heart. “My heart,” she said, the same thrumming intensity in her voice, “Jesse.”

He couldn’t hold himself back any longer, and leaned down to kiss her, holding her tighter and closer until there was no space left between them. Datapads and blankets were kicked off the bed and they whispered soft declarations into each others skin, leaving marks and gentle touches. 


End file.
